This course introduces students to major trends in world history and to the considered study of objects as expressions of a particular place and time. Its structure is roughly chronological, beginning in prehistory and continuing until the dawn of mass industrialization - a development that occurred at different times for different cultures. The focus will be on objects, from ordinary tools of daily life to extraordinary monuments of skill and design, on display in local museum collections. These objects will be explored in terms of how and why they were made, by whom and for whom, how they were used, what they meant to their users, and what social structures are embedded in them. Open to: Parsons Paris First Year students. Open to Sophomore, Junior and Senior students with permission only.